The puppet is a way to define who may be on duty at any given moment. It is a way to organize our shifts and allow individuals to check in with Guide chat to ensure that no one has their pixel toes stepped on in help.

It is a good habit to check into Guide chat [89] before starting a shift and if you are unsure if anyone is on duty, and cannot check history it is wise to simply ask:

[89]xx:xx (Guide)MadameMasque[O.G.]: Anyone have the puppet on the stool?

If there is no response or should someone say "all yours", it is suggested you say something towards acknowledging you are on duty such as:

[89]xx:xx (Guide)MadameMasque[O.G.]: picking up
starting a tab

In many cases stating you are 'on duty' as well will suffice, a simple acknowledgement to alert another Guide who may appear later. As it has been stated before it is best to pick up the "puppet"bar stool only when a Guide can do one hour minimum shifts at a time. The purpose for this is to cause less confusion, ensure that everyone is allowed a decent amount of time both on duty, and those who are on a break.

When you are done with your shift or need to go away from the keyboard and cannot be present to assist in help chat, please state you are leaving so that anyone who may come in and ask knows that the puppet bar stool is free. An example of such would be to say:


[89]xx:xx (Guide)MadameMasque[O.G.]: puppet bar stool is free

You may also see common forms of this stating 'dropping it', etc and so on. While the puppet bar stool may have many nicknames, it is still our favorite pixel assistant and truly the best Guide ;)